“80 percent of total cases have recovered. Our newly recovered patients are nearly 2,000. The majority of patients that were diagnosed positively experience the disease without any symptoms and are at home,” he tweeted.

The total novel coronavirus cases surged to 169,218, with 878 new ones added in the past 24 hours, Koca stated, noting that 18 died in a single day, taking the death toll to 4,669.

Turkey conducted 35,846 tests for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 2,303,258, he stated.

He said 1,922 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 135,322 in Turkey since the outbreak. The minister noted that 591 patients are being treated at the intensive care units and 264 others being intubated.

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19. Chinese doctors and medical experts held a video conference with Turkish counterparts to share China‘s experiences in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.

Turkey inaugurates 10 large parks to mark World Environment Day

Turkey on Friday inaugurated ten new national parks in several provinces across the country to mark World Environment Day, which falls on June 5 every year.

As part of the project which was developed by the government, Istanbulites acquired two new parks today, one in the Halkali neighborhood on the European part and another one in the Pendik district on the Asian side, raising the total number of their large green lots to nine.

In recent years, several beautiful groves, parks, and gardens have been opened in the city with a population of over 16 million by the efforts of local municipalities as well as the government in a move to offer excellent opportunities for the residents to relax and rest.

“This natural wonder place has been transformed into a lovely location where our citizens can come and do their daily sports very easily,” said Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul, at the opening ceremony held under COVID-19 confinements on May 19.

Imamoglu also issued a message on Twitter on Friday, saying that the whole world felt the value of nature once again during the COVID-19pandemic period.

“Greener cities and living spaces that respect nature is our only options,” he noted, marking the environment day.

Another large park in the Basaksehir district of the European part of the city, meanwhile, possesses a large pond and several thematic gardens with 25 types of different plants, attracting the residents.

A fragrance garden decorated with different aromatic flowers, a color garden with various colorful blooms, and a butterfly field is among the most visited parts of the park.

Basaksehir park officials started to plant new flowers, conducting maintenance works after the reopening on Monday when the government lifted several COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, two old parks in central Istanbul present a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The iconic Gezi Park neighboring the Taksim Square lures locals and tourists, and the Macka Park on a hill with a spectacular Bosphorus view in the Besiktas district presents good picnic possibilities to people during weekends.

“Our operations against the terrorist organization PKK continue resolutely. Four PKK terrorists were neutralized by airstrikes by means of reconnaissance and surveillance in Haftanin, Avasin and Zap regions in the north of Iraq,” the ministry tweeted.

In another statement, the Turkish interior ministry said its security forces “neutralized” two terrorists in southeastern Turkey.

The local gendarmerie commandos and special forces in the Mardin province launched operations in the rural areas of Omerli district, said the ministry in a written statement.

Turkey has long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and in northern Iraq where the group has hideouts. These operations are intensified in the past few months. PKK members often use northern Iraq to launch cross-border attacks in Turkey.

The police also seized 54 laptops and several mobile phones with special software that allows them to transfer data and communicate secretly.

In Diyarbakir, police detained 15 soldiers for allegedly having links to the Gulen network, the NTV broadcaster said, noting the operations are continuing throughout the city to catch three others at large.

The Turkish government blames Gulen and his network for being behind the failed coup in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed.

Chinese doctors and medical experts held a video conference with Turkish counterparts to share China‘s experiences in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.